This invention relates to parachute containers, and more particularly to such a container that can be hermetically sealed from the atmospheric environment until actual parachute deployment.
Atmospheric environment has a long term deleterious effect on parachutes, thus requiring frequent and costly maintenance inspections.
Conventional non-sealed parachutes require periodic drying and repacking on a routine schedule i.e., every 217 days. Navy standards also establish a limit of humidity to 5% of the dry weight. Different drying devices have been designed to meet this standard of humidity, including the old-type drying towers and new devices, such as vacuum and heat drying machines. As a result of improper drying techniques or from other causes, excess moisture remaining in the parachute after packing will freeze when the aircraft or parachute are deployed in cold climates or at high altitudes. If the parachute is subsequently deployed in a frozen condition, the parachute may malfunction and cause serious fatal injury to personnel, a fact well documented by official U.S. naval accident records.
Thus, a non-sealable parachute container has a short service life, and therefore is costly to maintain, as well as more likely to cause personnel injury during employment.